3. Mr. Lu's First Pot of Gold

The chanting on the field started again, and Lu Jincheng looked around, found an unnoticed moment, and slipped away.

Even when new students were overwhelmed by the scorching sun, most would sit obediently in the shade nearby, spiritually joining their classmates.

Not practicing was equal to companionship.

But Lu Jincheng didn't have such a strong sense of collectivism. Everyone knew he had fainted, so why not use this time to escape while he could?

Sitting and watching others during military training was just a waste of time.

In the afternoon at Nanhu University, the summer cicada calls were incessant. Lu Jincheng walked to his dorm room like he knew the way by heart.

Management College, Building 10, Dorm 603.

"Shit, I was damn handsome when I was young!"

"These clothes are so ugly, almost pointless."

The first thing Mr. Lu did when he returned to the dorm was to strip off his clothes without stopping and stood in front of the only full-length mirror, examining himself for quite a while.

At 183 cm, Lu Jincheng was considered tall in the south, and his features were somewhat handsome, but as a problem-solving nerd from a fifth-tier city, his small-town clothing style and introverted demeanor were naturally his weak points.

It wasn't until his career took off and he made some money, cultured by a strong scent of copper, that he began to fill in the blanks.

He wet his hands a little and messed with his hair, trying to bring back some of his pre-rebirth flair.

"Is there a term 'American front stab' now?"

"Forget it, just need to cut off this stupid fringe and show my forehead."

Although he understood the importance of appearance during his four years in college, he never spent much on his hair.

In this era, both important and trivial things needed to look pretty to be appealing.

It wasn't until later when he had his personal hairstylist, whose initial touch-up brightened Lu Jincheng's eyes.

He could look so handsome!

His facial proportions suited exposing his forehead more, not only accentuating his features but also giving off a mature yet slightly rogue and handsome vibe.

After looking at himself in the mirror, Lu Jincheng opened his phone and checked all the major apps to confirm his entire net worth.

No way, is this it?

He remembered correctly; there were 2000 yuan for monthly living expenses in his bank card.

Before military training, he had bought a bunch of daily necessities, and his WeChat balance was 108.

Nothing more.

Actually, after the college entrance exam, his relatives had given him quite a few red envelopes.

But Lu Jincheng looked at the ROG gaming laptop on his desk and was silent.

Why did he insist on playing that damned game back then?

He picked up his phone, checked the time, hesitated for a few seconds, and still made the call.

"Hello, what's up?"

On the other end of the phone, his mother Li Yan's voice rang out.

"Ah... nothing really, Mom, I just missed you."

Lu Jincheng cleared his throat, habitually starting his lead-up.

"...Did you cause some trouble at school?"

Li Yan, a dedicated teacher, had been quite strict with Lu Jincheng since he was young.

His father, Lu Yuqing, worked in the municipal office, a typical bureaucratic combination that wasn't rich but was free from want.

In such a family, subtlety was valued, and they almost never said directly "I love you" or "I miss you."

Over time, bold expressions of emotion seemed foreign, and mild, enduring affection became the natural choice.

So when Li Yan heard Lu Jincheng earnestly express himself on the phone, she was somewhat unaccustomed.

"No, how could that be? I really just missed you."

Lu Jincheng responded cheerfully, getting to the point: "I bought a computer for study, Mom, could you reimburse me?"

"How much... wait, don't you have the red envelopes from Grandpa and Granddad?"

Li Yan clearly was in a good mood, but she quickly reacted.

"Yeah, I bought it myself first."

"That's putting the cart before the horse, not good, I don't agree."

"Mom, having a computer for studying is an absolute necessity. Everyone in our dorm has one. If I don't buy one early, what happens if I can't keep up with the grades..."

After some wrangling, Lu Jincheng's bank account increased by 5000 yuan.

Although he couldn't get a full reimbursement, he was already very satisfied.

"Seven thousand yuan... still not quite enough."

Sitting on the stool, Lu Jincheng shook his head, crossed his legs, opened his laptop, and browsed the internet for a while, trying to integrate into this era.

"Damn! The World Cup is already over!"

Like him, those reborn in June and July easily made a fortune betting on the World Cup, while Lu Jincheng, who returned in September, had to honestly follow through military training.

"Never mind, I've come back with cheats, there are plenty of opportunities."

Lu Jincheng smirked, closed the page about Germany winning the World Cup, and continued browsing this year's national events.

[This is the era of entrepreneurship and innovation for all.]

[We need to stir up a new wave of "mass entrepreneurship" and "grassroots entrepreneurship" across 9.6 million square kilometers, forming a new trend of "innovation for all" and "everyone innovating."]

In September 2014, just after the conclusion of the summer Davos forum, the keywords announced by the leaders were absolutely inspiring.

It was also after this that the transaction volume of A-shares repeatedly broke through one trillion, sequentially driving up sectors like oil companies, liquor manufacturers, real estate, banks, high-speed rail, and military industries, and brokerage offices were swamped, officially ending the long-standing slump of the stock market.

"Now if you sprinkle some rice on the keyboard, even a blindfolded chicken could make money buying stocks..."

Seeing the current 2100-point market, Lu Jincheng almost drooled with desire.

"Being reborn really is outright cheating!"

If one could say that restarting life also had its difficulties, then undoubtedly the hardest part was making the first bucket of gold.

Whether relying on foresight to invest or to start a business, having seen the path to success made it hard to go astray.

As the saying goes, all beginnings are hard. For ordinary people, indeed, making that first bucket of gold required some effort.

But for Mr. Lu, thinking this through didn't even take a minute.

He rummaged through his things, found his admission letter and ID card, and held them in front of a mirror to take several selfies.

"It's not difficult at all."

"I love this era!"

He took out his phone and began downloading apps one by one from the computer screen.

The first batch was specifically for students: installment shopping platforms like Qufenqi and Renfenqi...

The second batch was P2P lending platforms helping students in their education and entrepreneurship, like Toutoudai and Mingxiao Loan...

The third batch was the yet-to-be-regulated "714" high-interest loans; loans disbursed in 10 minutes, credited swiftly.

Ordinary people fear risks, while successful individuals not only understand and accept risks but are often proactive in embracing them.

True to form, Mr. Lu hesitated not a bit and decisively chose the method that minimized time cost.

Exploiting loopholes.

Money falls into your lap without leaving home.

That year, regulatory authorities had not yet cracked down on P2P, and campus loans targeting university students were emerging endlessly. The regulatory "Stop, Move, Adjust, Educate, Guide" policy from the Bank Regulatory Commission was nowhere in sight.

In this wildly growing unordered era, fertile with opportunities and challenges, it was perfectly suited for someone like him to make a significant mark.

He didn't need to rack his brains on how to go from zero to one. His foresight gave certainty to his life.

Once you have the first bucket of gold, what else is there to worry about?

As the sky gradually darkened, Lu Jincheng, who had gone out to get a haircut and shop, wasn't idle at all and spent the newly acquired seven thousand yuan completely.

Clothes make the man just as a saddle makes the horse; on his journey to becoming more handsome, his phone wouldn't stop buzzing.

The credentials of a freshman were impeccable, and one by one, the amounts were credited to his account.

Finally, it settled at 520,000.